Follower for filing compartments



Patented Mar. 21, 1950 FOLLOWER FOR FILING COMPARTMENTS George M. Beno,Rocky River, Ohio, ass'ignor to,

Record Files, Inc., Wooster, Ohio, a corpora.-

tion of Ohio Application July 27, 1946, Serial No. 686,661

2 Claims.

This invention relates to followers for filing compartments and thelike, and more particularly to adjustable followers adapted to supportthe correspondence, cards or other material contained in thecompartments or drawers of filing cabinets.

A general object of the present invention is the provision of animproved follower which embodies a unitary locking mechanism to lock thefollower firmly in any desired position in the filing compartment.Another object is the provision of such a follower which can bemanufactured very economically by simple bending and forming operationsfrom a single piece of sheet metal. Another object is to provide such afollower which has ample strength to resist the forces imposed upon it.A further object is to provide a one-piece follower and locking devicewhich can be readily installed in or removed from a filing compartment.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent fromthe following description of a preferred form thereof, reference beingmade to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 illustrates afollower embodying my invention installed in a filing compartment such.as a drawer of a filing cabinet, parts of the drawer being broken awayfor convenience in illustration; Figure 2 is a rear elevational viewshowing the assembly of Figure 1, the view being taken as indicated bythe line 2-2 of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a transverse sectional viewtaken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2 and illustrating the manner inwhich the follower is locked in position within the compartment.

A preferred form of follower embodying my invention is shown in thedrawings as installed in a filing compartment indicated in general atIll. The compartment, which in this example is a drawer of a filingcabinet, may be of more or less conventional construction comprising a[bottom portion I l, side walls l2 and conventional front and backmembers which are not shown in the drawing. The upper edges of the sidewalls I2 are provided with inwardly and downwardly extending flanges [4,thus providing inverted channels I 5 extending along the upper edges ofthe side portions l2. This construction strengthens and stiffens theside portions and as will appear below, the locking parts of thefollower engage within the channels l5.

The follower itself, indicated in general at IT, preferably is a unitarymember formed of sheet metal and consists of a body portion I9 disposedsubstantially vertically in the compartment and having a beaded topportion 20 to provide stiffness, a lower rearwardly and horizontallyextending flange 2| which rests on the bottom of the compartment and isarranged to slide thereon, and rearwardly extending side flanges 22 and23, the flanges 22 forming part of the locking mechanism as will appearbelow, and the flanges 23 being provided for strength and stiffness. Inaddition, the main vertical portion IQ of the follower may be furtherstiffened by elongated vertical indentations 24 which may be formedtherein during the operations of stamping and bending the follower.

It will be noted that the flanges 22 are provided at their upper endswith outwardly offset portions 26 having their edges 21 curveddownwardly and rearwardly from the highest portions 28 thereof, thehighest portions preferably being substantially in the plane of thebody'portion l9. As shown best in Figure 3, the follower is dimensionedso that when it is in a vertical position with the bottom flange 2|resting on the bottom ll of the filing compartment there is only a veryslight clearance between the highest point 28 of the offset portion 26and the base of the channel l5 within which it is disposed. With thisarrangement, a force applied to the follower in the direction of thearrow in Figure 3 will tend to rotate the follower in a clockwisedirection,'and under the influence of such a force the follower willtend to rock about the pointA at the rear edge of the lower flange 2|.As this edge is offset vertically from the upper corner 28, the rockingmotion tends to raise the corner 28 into engagement with the base of thechannel l5, thus locking the follower against further rocking movement.In addition, the force exerted by the corner 28 against the base of thechannel l5 will react through the follower against the bottom wall H ofthe compartment, thus retaining the follower by fric-' tional engagementagainst bodily movement in the direction of the arrow. By thisconstruction, the follower is locked securely in position againstpressure exerted upon it by papers within the compartment and supportedby the front face of the follower.

While the follower may be locked in any desired position within thedrawer, it also may be moved readily to different positions ofadjustment merely by rocking the follower in the opposite direction(counterclockwise, in Figure 3). Such movement will give ample clears.ce between the base of the groove I5 and the:

26 because the rear comer of the member 26 is out off in an arcuateshape as shown at 21. If the follower is rocked forwardly to theposition shown in broken lines in Figure 3 with the members 26 entirelyout of engagement with the channel l5 and the downwardly extendingportion M, then the follower may be readily removed from thedrawermerely by turning it out of its transverse; position with respectto the drawer until it can'be lifted out of the drawer without havingthe parts 26 engaging the flanges M. Installation of the follower in acompartment is carried out by inserting the follower into the drawer inan oblique position, then turning it until it is normal to theside wallsl2 of the drawer and then rocking itinto a vertical portion with themembers 26 disposed within the channels I 5.

It is to be noted that the flanges 22 on the sides of the follower aredisposed above and in eng'agement with the bottom flange 2i Thus theseflanges reinforce the bottomflange against bending and provide a secureand rigid lock, the locking forces being transmitted through the sideflanges 22 between the base of the channel and the bottom wall H. Thelocking forces are exerted preponderantly upon the bottom wall Himmediately adjacent the side walls; thus the side walls of thecompartment reinforce the bottom wall against deflection by theseforces. The offset arrangement of the portions 26 makes the installationof the device simple, and the onepiececonstruction not only reducesmanufacturing cost, but eliminates waste of space within the filingcompartment and increases ease of operation. Thus it will be evidentthat I have provided a simple and sturdy follower for filing compartments which attains the objects heretofore noted. Various changesand modifications may be made in the invention without departing fromthe spirit and scope'thereof. Accordingly, it is to be understood thatmy patent is not limited to the preferred form of my invention disclosedherein or in any manner other than by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A follower for a filing compartment having a bottom wall and sidewalls, said side walls having inwardly extending flanges disposed abovethelevel of the bottom wall, said follower comprising a unitary sheetmetal member having a substantially plane body portion adapted to bedisposed substantially vertically in the compartment to support papersand the like against the front face thereof, a bottom flange extendingat right angles to said body portion rearwardly therefrom, side flangesextending at right angles to said body portion and disposed entirelyrearwardly therefrom, said side flanges engaging and supporting saidbottom flange and each having an outwardly offset upper portion adaptedto engage one of said inwardly extending flanges, each offset portionterminating and being highest at a point lying substantially in theplane of said body portion and having the upper edge thereof curveddownwardly and rearwardly from the highest point thereof, the distancefrom the bottom of the follower to the highest point of each offsetportion measured in the plane of said body portion being substantiallyequal to the distance from the bottom of said compartment to theunderside of said inwardly extending flanges, whereby engagement betweenthe highest points of said offset portions and said inwardly extendingflanges, and between said bottom flange and said bottom of saidcompartment locks said follower against rearward movement in response toforces exerted on the front face thereof, the curved upper edges of saidoffset portions permitting the follower to be rocked forwardly andreleased from looking engagement with said compartment.

2. A follower for a filing compartment having a bottom wall and sidewalls, at least one of said side walls having an inwardly extendingflange disposed above the level of the bottom wall, said follower havinga substantially plane body portion adapted to be disposed substantiallyvertically in the compartment and to support papers and the like againstthe front face thereof, a bottom flange extending at right angles tosaid body portion rearwardly therefrom, a side flange extending at rightangles to said body portion and disposed entirely rearwardly therefrom,said side flanges having an outwardly offset upper portion adapted toengage said inwardly extending flange, said offset portion being highestat a point lying substantially in the plane of said body portion andhaving the upper edge thereof extending downwardly and rearwardly fromthe highest point thereof, the distance from the bottom of the followerto said highest point measured in the plane of said body portion beingsubstantially equal to the distance from the bottom of said compartmentto the underside of said inwardly extending flange, whereby engagementbetween said highest point and said inwardlyextending flange, andbetween said bottom flange and said bottom of said compartment lockssaid follower against rearward movement in response to forces exerted onthe front face thereof, the downwardly extending upper edge of saidoffset portion permitting the follower to be rocked forwardly andreleased from looking engagement with said compartment.

GEORGE M. IBENO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

